All About HONEY!

Pure and simple, the best words to describe honey, nature’s natural sweetener! No preservatives, no additives, no artificial coloring or no artificial flavoring…..just pure and simple fabulously delicious honey! Believe it or not, the collecting of honey by man dates as far back as 15,000 years ago! And the expressions “busy little bees’? You will understand the meaning behind the expression when I tell you the process they go through to make honey. There are about 60,000 bees in a hive that travel as far away as 55,000 miles to gather nectar from flowers! Once they return to the hive the nectar is broken down into simple sugars and stored in the honeycomb made up of six-sided hexagon cells. Then these “busy little bees” must constantly flap their wings to fan the honeycomb so that the nectar will evaporate and turn into the thick golden honey that we all know and love! To make one pound of honey these little workers have to gather the nectar from more than two million flowers! Holy moly, I’m tired! They certainly are “busy little bees”!

Honey collection is an ancient activity. A cave painting was discovered in Valencia, Spain, from thousands of years ago, of humans hunting for and gathering honey. Today, beekeepers are our honey collectors, harvesting in the summer and fall by scraping off the wax caps on the honeycomb and then spinning the comb to release this golden liquid. Next, the honey is strained to remove any wax, bottled, labeled and distributed….pure and simple!

Honey is so much more that just a delicious alternative to granulated sugar. It boasts being a natural cold suppressant (delicious is hot tea!), an effective skin moisturizer and an all-natural energy booster!

Flavors of honey vary depending on the flower that the nectar comes from. The darker the honey the more intense the flavor. Orange Blossom and Clover honeys are most popular with other varieties, such as avocado, blueberry and wildflower, gaining in popularity. There are over three hundred varieties of honey in the Unites States having a wide range of appearance and flavor depending on their flower of origin.

Looking to find suppliers and producers of honey near you? Check out this valuable resource of suppliers of honey, comb honey, whipped honey and related products and services, as well as producers, packers and importers at the Honey Locator.

Curious to taste avocado honey and blueberry honey as well as the tried and true orange blossom honey? Just post a comment below or on our Swirls of Flavor Facebook page to be entered into a random drawing for honeys complimentary of The National Honey Board! Happy National Honey Month!